Game 69: Royals vs Yankees Gamethread

Lets avoid the sweep

Today, the Royals will take on the Yankees in the last game of their three-game series after dropping their first two games with a combined score of 16-5. In each game, the Royals have fallen into a hole early and struggled to regain the game's momentum. The Yankees are now 5-0 against the Royals in 2025, scoring 28 runs over the five games compared to the Royals, who have only scored 11 runs in their five games this year.

There is no individual fix to the Royals' problems, and simply put, they need to start hitting. The Yankees have been able to tag Royals starters early in the game and have quickly taken the momentum out of the crowd. The Royals will need to bring the energy tonight and fight to remain in the race for the AL Central.

The Royals have dropped four of their last five games and have dropped to exactly .500 on the season at 34-34. Kansas City simply cannot afford to drop more games at home, and falling below .500 would quickly take momentum out of a team that appeared to be getting hot after their series in St. Louis.

The Royals send out one of their more experienced arms in Seth Lugo, who will be making his third appearance since a short stint on the 15-day IL. Lugo has struggled some since his return, specifically with home runs, giving up three in his last two starts. Since his return, Lugo has gone 8.1 innings and has allowed 10 hits, 4 walks, and 6 earned runs as he continues to get back into a rhythm on the mound.

On the other hand, the Yankees will send out one of their least experienced starters in Will Warren, who has an ERA just north of five entering tonight's game in Kansas City. Warren only has 18 career starts in the major leagues, with 13 of them coming this season. The Royals' offense has a chance to flip this series on its head by tagging Warren early and getting off to an early lead. Providing Seth Lugo with run support and allowing the team to carry a lead for the first time this series will be incredibly valuable in tonight's final game against the Yankees.

The Royals stick with their first six hitters with India, Witt, Garcia, Pasquantino, Perez, and Caglianone leading off the game yet again. Perez moves to DH for today's game, and Freddy Fermin will get behind the plate for the first time in this series. Nick Loftin comes in at left field, where he has been solid so far this year and hopefully can provide a spark into the Royals' sputtering offense.

The Yankees give several players a day off, with the most prominent being Aaron Judge and Jazz Chisholm. Austin Wells will sit in favor of J.C. Escarra when facing a righty in Lugo, and Pablo Reyes will start for the first time this series as DJ LeMahieu takes the day off. The Yankees will not bring their A team for the series finale, and the Royals will need to come away with a win today to avoid the sweep and stay above .500.